Free Grant Funding for Artists, Writers, Musicians

Free Grants are available for artists, photographers, writers, musicians and more. There are many funders that provide support for worthy talent in the arts. We have provided a few available grants. And under our earlier posts and resource links, you'll find more than 200 other grants you may be eligible to apply for. We will be adding to the list weekly, so sign up for alerts and become a follower for this site. We love your suggestions and comments. Thanks and great success in the arts!

Friday, November 4

The Venice Art Prize International & More

Grants for All the Arts

Here are more Funding Opportunities for the
Arts--a residency in Venice, Grants for Theater arts, Photography, Videography, Art Education, a Small Works Exhibition for Women Artists and Native American Research Fellowships.

I add to the post often, so be sure to sign up for email alerts and
become a follower. Let me know what is useful and what questions or comments you have. I'll
try to add that as I go along. I'll share some of the recent winners of the 2011 awards in coming weeks.

The Prize
is divided into five sections: painting, photographic art, sculpture, videoart
and performance. Participants can choose the theme of their artworks.

ELIGIBILITY
The Prize is open to all artists, without any limit of age, sex, nationality or
other qualifications. Each artist can participate with one or more artworks, in
one or more sections. Technical details:

Sculpture and installation
any organic or inorganic material. In the works sounds, lights, videos,
mechanical or electrical movements can be used.

Photographic Art
color and b/w analog photos, color and b/w digital photos, color and b/w
digital elaborations, works entirely created by computer. The maximum
dimensions allowed per each works are 150 cm per side

Video Art and animation
film, video and works with all the animation techniques on any digital and
analog support. The works has to last as maximum 15 minutes, opening title
and closing credits included.

Performance
any technique, expressive form and with any support materials (video,
music, etc.. to be provided and arranged by the artist in the case of
being selected as finalist) can be used.

NEW - Virtual Art - i Fope, with the contribution of
FOPE: artworks entirely created by computer, 3D graphics, virtual
installations, works created by smartphone or tablet applications, videos
entirely created by computer, virtual videos, net art. The finalist
artworks will be on display at the collective exhibition on tablet or
smartphone.

Theater Communications Group Announces New Leadership Program for Theatre Practitioners

Deadline: December 12, 2011 and
February 26, 2011

Up to $94,500 is available to support the development of emerging and
established leaders in all areas of nonprofit theater.

Theatre Communications
Group, a national membership organization that works to strengthen,
nurture, and promote professional nonprofit American theater, has received $1
million from the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation to launch Leadership U, a grant program designed to
support the development of theater leaders at various points in their career.
The overall intent of the program is to strengthen the field by developing
individuals who are the core and future of theater.

The new program provides support through two initiatives: One-on-One for
early-career leaders and Continuing Ed for mid-career and veteran
professionals.

The
One-on-One Initiativeseeks to identify exceptionally talented
early-career theater professionals who have potential to impact the theater
field in a positive way and who are committed to working full-time with a
performing arts organization rather than on a freelance basis. The program will
nurture early-career leaders in all areas of theater, including but not limited
to acting, administration, management, craft areas, design, directing,
dramaturgy, literary management, producing, stage management, and technical
production. The program will provide six individuals with a $75,000 grant for
professional development mentorships lasting sixteen to eighteen months at a
TCG member theater, with an additional $5,000 honorarium for their mentor.
Supplemental funds up to $10,000 will be available to each mentee for
outstanding student loans, approved activities, and/or life needs (i.e.
healthcare, child or elder care, or other medical expenses). An additional
$4,500 (maximum) will be available for mentee and mentor travel. The mentee
applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States
and must not be a full-time student at a university or conservatory training
program at the commencement of the mentorship period (August 1, 2012). The
primary mentor must be key personnel and hold a full-time position at a TCG
member theater. Deadline
for this initiative is December 12, 2011

The
Continuing Ed Initiative will award grants of up to $6,000 to eight
mid-career to veteran professionals at TCG member theaters for learning
opportunities that will advance their leadership skills in artistic,
administrative, educational, and production areas. Since these grants are for
mid-career and veteran leaders who are established in the field, their
activities will be self-supervised. Depending on the goals of the applicant,
there may be activities that are learning situations where specific supervision
will be built into activities (e.g., classes, workshops, or working directly
with an established leader or specialist in the field of theater or in another
sector). Grants will be awarded to the applicant's home theater on behalf of
the theater practitioner. The theater professional applicant must be key
personnel, hold a full-time position at a TCG member theater, and have a
minimum of five years' professional experience in the not-for-profit theater
field.

Deadline for this initiative is February 26, 2011.

For more information go to http://www.tcg.org/grants/leadershipu/guidelines.cfm

Kresge Foundation Invites Preliminary
Applications for Arts and Community
Building and Artists'
Skills and Resources Grant Opportunities

Deadline:
February 1, 2011

From now through Feb.1, 2012, the Kresge Arts Fellowship application period
is open. Each artist selected will receive $25,000 to use in whichever way
benefits his or her practice, whether it be covering the cost of supplies,
food, travel, whatever. There are no restrictions on how the money is to be
used.

The fellowship alternates the genres of art it supports every year.
Painters, sculptors, and photographers will have to wait until 2012 when the
application opens again for visual artists.

The Kresge Foundation's
Arts and Culture Program seeks to foster the power of arts and culture to
recharge and rebuild communities of all sizes in the United States.

As part of this effort, the program is accepting preliminary grant
applications from nonprofit organizations for its Community Building
and Artists' Skills and Resources focus areas.

The Arts and Community
Building focus area is
intended to help develop a systematic way to support arts and culture as a tool
for revitalizing communities. To achieve this goal, the program will invest in
exemplary efforts and identify and share best practices within the field. At
the national level, the foundation wishes to fund exemplary organizations
dedicated to integrating arts and community-building activities and identifying
new methods as models for the field; commission and publish research on efforts
to integrate cultural organizations and artists into community-building
efforts; elevate the visibility of arts and community building, and disseminate
best practices through meetings, publications, and other means as appropriate.
The foundation is accepting preliminary applications from grantseekers for
national-level projects.

The Artists' Skills and Resources focus area is based in the belief that community
transformation would be more widespread if more communities embraced artists as
important contributors to the identity, vitality, and cohesion of the places
where they live. The program seeks to boost artists' skills and resources by
supporting leading practitioners as well as efforts to increase the number of
live-and-work spaces for artists.

Preliminary applications for both funding areas will be accepted and
reviewed on an ongoing basis through February 1, 2012. (After that date, the
grant opportunity may be modified.) The preliminary application contains a
data-entry component and several attachments, including a narrative. Applicants
with promising requests will be asked to complete the second part of the
application process.

More information at http://www.kresge.org/programs/arts-culture/arts-and-community-building

Women Artists Open Small Works Exhibition in New York

Deadline: December 31, 2011

The National Association of
Women Artists, Inc. is inviting women artists to apply for the Open Small Works
Exhibition. A Multi-Media Small Works Exhibit in the N.A.W.A. Gallery, Feb 1 to
Feb 28, 2012.

First Prize - Solo Exhibition in the N.A.W.A. Gallery

ENTRY GUIDELINES

Entry fee $35.00 (up to three entries). check payable to N.A.W.A.

Artist's name and name of work should be clearly marked on CD

Images on CD must be 300 ppi maximum size 6" x 4" in any
direction

Artist may submit a 72 ppi JPG as an email attachment (rather than
a CD). Please send to: office@thenawa.org and in the subject like please
write: 'Annual Open Small Works Exhibition'.

Artwork information must be included in email (signed waiver,
application, and entry fee must be sent by snail mail).

All artwork must be for sale. Please sign application waiver and
return with application.

The Sequoyah National
Research Center
at the University of Arkansas at Little
Rock is accepting proposals for its 2012 Research
Fellowship Program, which fosters research involving forms of Native American
expression in a range of disciplines.

“The program encourages scholars and artists to conduct
research in the American Native Press Archives and the Dr. J. W. Wiggins
Collection of Native American Art to support
significant studies in a wide range of fields and subjects such as Indian removal
from the Southeast, Native journalism and journalists, late 20th century
and early 21st century tribal societies and economics, literary artists,
visual arts and artists, art history, entertainment, and others,” reads a press
release announcing the fellowships.

At least six fellowships of $1,500 will be offered, which
are meant to alleviate some of the cost of living and travel expenses while
fellows are conducting research at theSequoyah National
Research Center.